Why Your Shampoo and Conditioner Stop Working

The bigger question is: Can shampoo/conditioner really stop doing its job? People ask all the time, “Why does my shampoo and conditioner seem to stop functioning after a few weeks or months?”

Maybe you’ve been using the same shampoo and conditioner for a while now. It started off incredible like a new romance. Your hair was full, bouncy, voluminous, it was soft and conditioned. Then your hair began to appear flat, dull and felt dry. Next you noticed some breakage and you decided that you’d better change your shampoo and conditioner because it must have stopped working. You try a few different brands and nothing really changes. You settle on something that kind of makes your hair feel good. It might be better than what you used before...or is it?

The idea that you need to change your shampoo and conditioner every so often because they stop working is funny to me. What “works” doesn’t stop if it truly worked in the first place.

Synthetic chemical products can very much appear to change hair but only short term. This is where it gets confusing. If a product was helping my hair, why did it stop? At this point, a different shampoo and conditioner can seem like the right answer.

When using silicone/synthetic chemical shampoos and conditioners, the results can be “wonderful” at first. I believe synthetic chemical hair products have become really good at "tricking" the hair/body for a period of time. Temporary smoothing and coating with silicones make the hair appear shiny and healthy but this is misleading and doesn't contribute to long term hair and scalp health.

Over time, silicone (watch out for very common silicone derivatives like dimethicone and other ingredients ending in -cone) builds up on hair, which actually causes breakage. The very thing that gives it an allure- making hair appear shiny and smooth- is exactly what suffocates the hair. Silicones smother the hair and make it unable to absorb as much moisture/water equaling dehydration, and combined with the build up equals; SNAP. The hair begins to break underneath the silicones/dimethicones. The scalp has been stripped of it’s natural oils from harsh foaming agents like sulfates and isn’t responding to the synthetic softeners for replenishment. Are they even able to penetrate the synthetic chemical build up at this point?

What is a silicone and where does it come from? It’s a man-made oil created in a laboratory. There are many different kinds of silicones. Dimethicone is very common. Most silicones are water insoluble, so they build up on the hair forming a plastic-like barrier. Cyclomethicone is another type of silicone, which is said to be water soluble and washes off the hair. From my professional experience, I have found that water soluble silicones will still build up on the hair over time.

If you like the idea of silicones and what they do for your hair, then that is right for you. But remember, silicones are not biodegradable and that ultimately means harm to other life, they are not sustainably produced either.

It’s healthy to consider not only how everything works or doesn’t work but also how it can affect your body, animals, marine life and the planet. That’s an extremely important point and I wish more people cared about it.

Well formulated, natural shampoos and conditioners work differently from synthetic chemical formulations. Natural ingredients are gentle and intelligent. Pure, clean, skillfully formulated products don’t rely on synthetic chemical softening and absorption. They work in natural alignment with the body. It’s a "bio-match." There's a higher frequency of communication between the plants and the body. Plant oils and essences have distinct similarities molecularly to the oils of the body allowing them to work together naturally.

Whole plants have an incredible ability to adapt to the body’s needs at any specific time. Plants and herbs deliver phytonutrients, detox and regenerate the body through an intuition like intelligence network. Signaling to deliver the adequate amount of what is needed, the intuitive center of the plants cells magnetize with the body. It's a vibrational matching where cells draw to themselves the exact nourishment it needs to stay complete. Nature and the body work on the same frequency.

Join the community and connect with Josh Rosebrook Skin and Hair Care to stay up to date with the latest in all-natural beauty. News, product developments, inspiring images and more! Leave a comment or review on facebook, send us a question via twitter, or follow us on instagram for the latest images of a life more natural.